This section is from the book "The Home Cyclopedia Of General Information", by Charles Morris. Also available from Amazon: Home Cyclopedia of Necessary Knowledge.
A kind of leather made from the skins of horses, wild asses, and camels, and so grained as to leave on it little grains or pimples. These are caused by forcing into the moist skin the hard seeds of an Asiatic plant. Shagreen is made at Astrakan, Russia, and other places. It is used for covering sword scabbards, instrument cases, etc.
 
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